Everyone will adjust eventually... but it's going to be about the team that adjusts the quickest."
The NHL didn't just get a new economic system after it was shut down by a labor dispute for 10 months. It got a whole new look.
New Rules WHAT?
Two-line passes are OK now. Goalies are limited in where they can play the puck. The "tag-up" offside is back. Linesmen factor intent into icing calls. Nets are two feet closer to the end boards. Attacking zones are four feet larger, and the neutral zone has shrunk.
"The game this year will reward speed, quickness, skill, intelligence and hard work," Walkom said. "It will penalize illegal tactics, especially when a player uses his stick or free arm as a defensive tactic."
Down Sides: Burying your stick blade in someone's midsection doesn't qualify as good defense anymore. Or that grabbing a fistful of sweater no longer is an acceptable method of slowing an opponent. Or that a defenseman has lost the option of encouraging rival forwards to, uh, relocate by driving the shaft of his stick into their spine.
"It's important that people out there in the mainstream of hockey recognize that this is a cultural change in hockey," said Stephen Walkom, NHL Senior Vice President & Director of Officiating. "Accepted practices, practices that have been coached into the game for the past 20 years, will now be called as penalties. The clutching and grabbing of the puck carrier that has bothered the fans for years will be addressed under the new standard of enforcement."
"The new standards of enforcement, including restricting where the goalie can play the puck and removal of the center red line, are all designed to create more offense and scoring opportunities for the players in our game," Walkom said.
"The practice of wrapping an opponent with your free hand along the boards in the defensive zone is no longer permitted. This means more free skating in the offensive zone," Walkom said. "A defensive player will have to make an immediate hit on a rival who dumps a puck past him. If an immediate hit is not made, defensive players must turn and chase after the puck."
By the end of the 2005-06 hockey season, somebody is going to want to wring the necks of the NHL rules committee members who decided that tie games should be decided by an overtime shootout. But when a team's chances of making the playoffs are doused by the flick of an opponent's wrists in mid-April, some coach or player is going to blast the NHL for taking a team sport and turning it into a skills competition.
But will this hold up? Early-season crackdowns have become a ritual of sorts in the NHL. When the leaves begin to fall, the referees' arms start to go up. A month or so later, the trees are empty, and so are the penalty boxes.
Since Pre-Season Starts today I would like to make note on how happy I am to have Osgood back on the team. He is one of my Fav players of all time. I forget the exact year but somewhere between middle school and highschool one of my good friends at the time.. Laura Ulmer and I stood and waited 7 hrs one Sat afternoon to get his autograph. I was well worth it!
Not too shure if iam gunna like these new rules.. i liked all the hooking that lead to fighting etc..
Date
Day
Opponent
Time/Recap
Home/Away
TV
09/19/2005
Mon
Pre-season - Tampa Bay
7:30 p.m.
Home
-
09/21/2005
Wed
Pre-season - Colorado
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
09/22/2005
Thu
Pre-season - Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
09/23/2005
Fri
Pre-season - Dallas
8:30 p.m.
Away
-
09/25/2005
Sun
Pre-season - Dallas
5:00 p.m.
Home
FSN
09/27/2005
Tue
Pre-season - Colorado
9:00 p.m.
Away
-
09/28/2005
Wed
Pre-season - Columbus
7:30 p.m.
Home
-
09/30/2005
Fri
Pre-season - Toronto
7:30 p.m.
Home
-
10/01/2005
Sat
Pre-season - Toronto
7:00 p.m.
Away
-
10/05/2005
Wed
St. Louis
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/06/2005
Thu
St. Louis
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
10/09/2005
Sun
Calgary
4:00 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/10/2005
Mon
Vancouver
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/13/2005
Thu
Los Angeles
10:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
10/15/2005
Sat
Phoenix
10:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
10/17/2005
Mon
San Jose
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/21/2005
Fri
Anaheim
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/22/2005
Sat
Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
10/24/2005
Mon
Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Away
OLN
10/27/2005
Thu
Chicago
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
10/29/2005
Sat
Chicago
8:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
11/01/2005
Tue
Chicago
7:30 p.m.
Home
OLN
11/03/2005
Thu
Edmonton
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/05/2005
Sat
Phoenix
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/06/2005
Sun
St. Louis
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
11/09/2005
Wed
Los Angeles
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/11/2005
Fri
Minnesota
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/13/2005
Sun
Vancouver
10:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
11/16/2005
Wed
Calgary
9:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
11/17/2005
Thu
Edmonton
9:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
11/19/2005
Sat
St. Louis
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/21/2005
Mon
Nashville
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/23/2005
Wed
Colorado
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
11/25/2005
Fri
Anaheim
4:00 p.m.
Away
WJBK
11/26/2005
Sat
San Jose
10:30 p.m.
Away
WJBK
11/28/2005
Mon
Los Angeles
10:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/01/2005
Thu
Calgary
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
12/04/2005
Sun
NY Islanders
5:00 p.m.
Home
FSN
12/06/2005
Tue
New Jersey
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
12/09/2005
Fri
Washington
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/12/2005
Mon
Pittsburgh
7:30 p.m.
Home
OLN
12/13/2005
Tue
Atlanta
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/15/2005
Thu
Florida
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/17/2005
Sat
Tampa Bay
7:30 p.m.
Away
WJBK
12/20/2005
Tue
Columbus
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
12/23/2005
Fri
Chicago
8:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/27/2005
Tue
Dallas
8:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
12/31/2005
Sat
Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/03/2006
Tue
Minnesota
7:30 p.m.
Home
TBD
01/05/2006
Thu
St. Louis
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/06/2006
Fri
Nashville
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
01/08/2006
Sun
Dallas
5:00 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/10/2006
Tue
Carolina
7:00 p.m.
Away
OLN
01/12/2006
Thu
Philadelphia
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/14/2006
Sat
NY Rangers
2:00 p.m.
Home
NBC
01/18/2006
Wed
Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
01/21/2006
Sat
Colorado
2:00 p.m.
Away
NBC
01/23/2006
Mon
Nashville
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
01/24/2006
Tue
Nashville
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/26/2006
Thu
Vancouver
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
01/28/2006
Sat
Dallas
2:00 p.m.
Away
NBC
01/30/2006
Mon
Minnesota
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
02/01/2006
Wed
St. Louis
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
02/04/2006
Sat
Colorado
2:00 p.m.
Away
NBC
02/08/2006
Wed
Nashville
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
02/09/2006
Thu
Nashville
8:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
02/12/2006
Sun
Colorado
5:00 p.m.
Home
OLN
02/28/2006
Tue
San Jose
10:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/01/2006
Wed
Anaheim
10:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/04/2006
Sat
Phoenix
9:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/07/2006
Tue
Phoenix
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
03/09/2006
Thu
Los Angeles
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
03/11/2006
Sat
Chicago
7:30 p.m.
Home
WJBK
03/12/2006
Sun
Chicago
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/15/2006
Wed
Anaheim
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
03/18/2006
Sat
Edmonton
10:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/19/2006
Sun
Vancouver
10:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
03/21/2006
Tue
Nashville
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
03/23/2006
Thu
San Jose
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
03/25/2006
Sat
Columbus
7:30 p.m.
Home
WJBK
03/27/2006
Mon
St. Louis
8:00 p.m.
Away
OLN
03/31/2006
Fri
Chicago
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
04/02/2006
Sun
Minnesota
2:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
04/03/2006
Mon
Calgary
9:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
04/07/2006
Fri
Columbus
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
04/08/2006
Sat
Columbus
7:00 p.m.
Away
FSN
04/11/2006
Tue
Edmonton
7:30 p.m.
Home
FSN
04/13/2006
Thu
Chicago
8:30 p.m.
Away
FSN
04/15/2006
Sat
St. Louis
2:00 p.m
Away
FSN
04/17/2006
Mon
Dallas
7:30 p.m.
Home
OLN
04/18/2006
Tue
Nashville
8:00 p.m
Away
FSN
DKR is preforming @ Stilettos on friday.. come out and have some fun with us.
Saturday I went shopping all day with Lauron and Meggin.. I bought 4 shirts and another pair of cargo kaki's along with the 4th season of Will & Grace.
HOCKEY TOWN ITS RED & WHITE SEASON!!!